Construction on the foot over-bridge (FOB) between KR Puram railway station and Metro station is currently underway after South Western Railway (SWR) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) have come to an agreement.
The FOB will be constructed in three phases and will consist of connecting the Purple Line station with the other side of the road, connecting the Blue Line station with the other side of the road, and connecting the renovated KR Puram railway station’s platform to all the Metro stations.
KR Puram Metro station is an interchange where the Purple Line and the upcoming Blue Line will intersect.
The KR Puram railway station is also an important transit point for commuters in Bengaluru, connecting various parts of the city with other parts of Karnataka and neighbouring states.
The new FOB will provide a seamless connection between the railway station and the metro station, making it much more convenient for commuters to switch between the two.
The land which lies on the railway station side has been a topic of interest for various civic departments over the years but BMRCL has successfully acquired it. In return, they will give an equal amount of land to SWR.
According to Yashvanth Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer at BMRCL, the construction of the FOB is still in the planning stages and therefore the phases and completion date of the project cannot be determined.
Furthermore, land licensing charges are still outstanding and SWR has advised BMRCL to suspend construction until licensing fees have been paid.
Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Kusuma Hariprasad, stated that written communication regarding this matter will be sent to BMRCL soon.
Mahadevapura Task Force (mobility) was actively involved in negotiations with the authorities to ensure that the FOB would connect to the existing Purple Line Metro station.
Initially, the plan was to have Metro passengers come out of the station and climb the FOB from the ground level to get to the other side. However, with the Task Force’s intervention, they were able to convince authorities to connect it to the first floor of the Purple Line station.
The Blue Line station is also set to come next to the existing Metro station in KR Puram; however, authorities were initially planning to keep it disconnected from the station.
Bengaluru Metro Purple Line
Bengaluru Metro’s Purple Line, which connects the eastern part of the city to the central business district, is almost complete with the exception of a 2.5 km link crucial link between Byappanahalli and KR Puram stations.
Once the 2.5 km stretch between KR Puram to Baiyappanahalli opens by mid-2023, it will pave the way for Whitefield, the bustling tech and residential hub of Bengaluru, to be connected to the rest of the city.
At present, the recently opened Whitefield to KR Puram stretch of the Purple Line is functional, along with the 25-km-long stretch between Byappanahalli and Kengeri. The key connection between Byappanahalli and KR Puram will join the entire line and seamlessly connect east to west of the city.